ABU SIMBEL

Abu Simbel, site of two temples in southern Egypt, on the
Nile River, south of Asw‚n. The temples were carved into a
sandstone cliff about 1250 BC during the reign of Ramses II. The
interior of the larger temple is more than 55 m (about 180 ft) in
depth and consists of a series of halls and chambers leading to a
central sanctuary. This temple was dedicated by Ramses II to the
chief gods of Heliopolis, Memphis, and Thebes. It is oriented so
that the rays of the rising sun illuminate the statues of the
three gods and of Ramses II in the innermost sanctuary. The
smaller temple was dedicated by Ramses to his queen, Nefertari,
and to the goddess Hathor. The facade of the larger temple has
four sitting statues of Ramses II, each more than 20 m (about 65
ft) in height. Smaller statues of Ramses II, Nefertari, and their
children adorn the facade of Nefertari's temple. The larger
temple has numerous inscriptions and reliefs, some of them of
unusual historical interest. A series of reliefs depicts the
battle between the Egyptians and the Hittites at Kadesh. Two of
the large sitting statues of Ramses have inscriptions in Greek
dating from the 6th century BC. They were written by Greek
mercenary soldiers and are among the earliest dated Greek
inscriptions.
The temples, the most important monuments of ancient Nubia, were
unknown to the West until 1812, when they were discovered by the
Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt. In 1964 an international
project was begun to save the temples from inundation by Lake
Nasser, the reservoir of the Asw‚n High Dam. In a remarkable
engineering feat, the temples were cut apart and, in 1968,
reassembled on a site 64 m (210 ft) above the river.